BOOMTOWN RAP: How not to fight corruption cases

Three decades ago, a famous dramatist of Karnataka, Master Hirannaiah, had launched a campaign against corruption through his satire play, Lanchavatara.

He earned such popularity that politicians avoided attending his plays despite receiving invitations, because he would rip their reputations in front of the audience.

Master Hirannaiah had come up with a unique solution to end corruption in the public sphere — if any government body is corrupt, take out its head!

Now, politicians in the state are using this famous line to describe what Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has done to undermine the capability of the anti-corruption agency, the Lokayukta, which was considered a model for the rest of the country.

Last week, the state set up an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), literally rendering the corruption watchdog Lokayukta toothless and powerless.

The fact that the government order was passed hurriedly overnight without even informing the Congress Legislature Party or the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council led to plenty of speculation.

Former Union minister SM Krishna slammed Siddaramaiah for the ‘wrong’ move, while former Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde termed it a dangerous trend.

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government received widespread criticism for establishing the ACB under the purview of the bureaucrats, unlike the Lokayukta where the police wing enjoyed absolute autonomy while probing corruption cases against government servants and elected representatives.

The Congress leaders are also unhappy with Siddaramaiah’s decision, which is not a collective one, and they believe people may not be in favour of it.

The new ACB will be headed by the state chief secretary, who in turn reports to the CM.

Anti-corruption crusaders are of the view that this will end the independence and the autonomy of the Lokayukta in investigating corruption-related cases.

Tomorrow, if there is a complaint against Siddaramaiah, then an Advisory Committee will screen the complaint before taking a decision on its fate.

Everyone agrees that this is an unhealthy trend as far as Karnataka is concerned, because the Lokayukta had played an effective role in curbing corruption in the last 15 years. The ACB, on the other hand, will send the wrong signal to society.

Justice Hegde, who played an instrumental role in the ouster of BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa from the CM’s chair in the mining scam, was clear that there was a hidden agenda behind the government forming the ACB.

According to him, the government is taking shelter under a court order, which recommended the creation of a Vigilance Wing for each department. But that does not mean that the government can snatch away the autonomy of the Lokayukta.

First, the government is delaying the appointment of the new Lokayukta ever since Justice YS Bhaskar Rao quit after his son was named in a charge-sheet accusing him of running an extortion racket. Several cases are pending probe in the Lokayukta and the morale of the officers is at an all-time low.

Going a step ahead, the government now intends to hand over the 800 plus cases pending before the Lokayukta to the ACB. The police wing in the Lokayukta could suo motu take up cases against any corrupt officer against whom a complaint is lodged.

But under the ACB set up, the investigation team has to take approvals from a Vigilance Advisory Body, Secretary — DPAR (Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms) and in cases of the state Chief Secretary.

The anti-corruption crusaders have launched a state-wide agitation urging withdrawing the government order on creating the ACB.

But Siddaramaiah is adamant and has informed the the state legislature that there was no question of dismantling the ACB.

Truth remains elusive

DK Ravi's parents wait for the CBI report

For the last week, the parents of IAS officer DK Ravi, who died under mysterious circumstances last year in Bengaluru, have been picketing the homes of politicians in the city.

Their mission is to seek the truth from the CBI on the circumstances leading to their son’s death.

The state government has washed its hands of the issue after handing over the case to the CBI.

A preliminary unofficial report from the CBI indicated that Ravi may have committed suicide, but the reasons are yet to be established.

On the first death anniversary of Ravi, his parents came to Bengaluru in a convoy and staged demonstrations at important places. Later, they went to the homes of Union ministers, including DV Sadananda Gowda and HN Ananthkumar.

In fact, Ravi’s parents have issued an ultimatum to the government - they would dig the grave of the IAS officer and order a fresh autopsy to ascertain the truth.

Opposition fails to take up people's cause

The BJP in Karnataka seems to be running out of steam because its leaders are picking on issues that they feel will pay them political dividends in the long run, conveniently ignoring the real issues.

A severe drought is causing havoc across the state. In addition, erratic power and inadequate water supply coupled with a scorching summer have made people question the Congress government about basic necessities, while the BJP is largely missing these issues.

Half of Karnataka is facing an acute water shortage, with people waiting hours for supplies

Right now, the BJP is single-mindedly focusing on demanding a thorough probe into the death of its party worker. But it should not ignore the issues affecting the common people.

Half of north Karnataka is facing an acute water shortage. In some districts like Raichur, the situation is worse with people waiting for hours for one pot of water.

The summer heat is also taking a toll on the livestock, with hundreds of farmers reporting the deaths of their cattle and sheep.

Agricultural work has taken a severe hit, as power is being supplied for 3-6 hours to the villages and farmers are unable to pump water to their fields.

In a scenario like this, the BJP ideally should have taken the Congress to task for ignoring the plight of the people.

Last year too, Siddaramaiah got away despite more than 1,000 farmers who lost their crops or were unable to pay their farm loans committing suicide.

Under such circumstances, people expect the opposition to voice their problems.

But the BJP chose to make the death of its worker an issue at the Budget session of the legislature. It went a step further to describe that anti-social and anti-national elements were operating in the state without any fear of the law.